The concept of home means something different to us all. It can be
particularly different for those who have traveled the world many times
over, or aren't used to being static in one place. Designer Fen Cheng Wang
found ways to bring it home for her fall/winter 2018 collection presented
at Pier 59 Studios. This season, her collection was inspired by her
childhood home of Fuijan, southern China, number 239, which was embroidered
on garments throughout the collection.

Wang gave a new take on the boyfriend shirt, interpreting it as the
keepsake of a former lover. Shirt pieces were paneled together, taking the
constructed, breaking it down, then reconstructing it. Shirts were put on
other shirts, and one shirt was even a fusion of numerous shirts, for a
dramatic and avant garde effect. This symbolized the different connections
we as humans have to each other based on family and travel. Denim was
rendered as worn, given the suggestion that it was worn by an older
sibling.

The feeling of the collection was also quite futuristic with shiny fabrics.
Wang also used cotton-wool blends to mix them together with her own style
to create a sporty, yet original look. Colors liked gold were used to
symbolize the sun travelers see on their journey home, and warm oranges
were used to symbolize the sun when one finally gets home. Winding strips
of cotton, which twisted and turned, were very much like traveling home.

"This season is really important for me, because I want to keep doing
better," Wang said. "It's always hard as a designer to go between the
commercial side and the creative side, but this season we have many
wearable clothes, as well as creative, conceptual clothes as well. There's
a balance and it's quite exciting."

Wang has long been ahead of the curve, being part of the streetwear style
movement long before it dominated the industry. When she first started, her
clothes were a combination of sportswear mixed with traditional tailoring
techniques. However, she hasn't let the growth in the streetwear market
change her approach to design any. "For me, I just continued to go further
into myself as a designer," she said. "I stay true to the brand as it
originally started."

This collection showed how Wang carries her childhood memories and all of
her travels in her creative essence. The end result took us to a new future
of fashion, one stilled married to nostalgia.